Create Habits that Stick. Step 2!

Feb 21, 2014

Step 2: Be Consistent in Your Approach

Consistency is the single most valuable tool in your lifestyle-change toolbox. They don’t call habits “behavioral patterns” for nothing. In the same way that a pattern is a series of repeated elements, a habit can easily be thought of as a series of repeated motions. Let’s imagine that you are trying to establish a morning workout pattern. Create a two-week calendar and visually mark down the days you intend to exercise in the AM hours. Commit to this pattern for two weeks even though it may disrupt your current routine. After two weeks you should feel distinctly more comfortable with morning workouts than you did on day 1.

The mere act of following through on your intended habit in the short term makes it more likely that you will succeed in the long term. The first two weeks are usually the most difficult, so follow through at all costs and watch as your new habit becomes effortless.

Be sure to come back tomorrow for: Step 3: Tell Someone Else Your Intended Habit and How You Will Achieve It.

About Cyrus Khambatta, PhD

Cyrus Khambatta is a nutrition and fitness coach that specializes in plant-based nutrition education. He was diagnosed as a type 1 diabetic at the age of 22, and decided to study towards a PhD in Nutritional Biochemistry to understand the molecular level details of nutrition and fitness for long-term disease prevention. He owns and operates Mangoman Nutrition and Fitness based in San Francisco, and has developed innovative 6-month small-group nutrition and fitness programs to educate, inspire, motivate and train clients to optimal health and exceptional fitness.